[Marxism] Pennsylvania congressman says may be too late to save US position in Iraq

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I raised earlier that Democrats (or, of course, Republicans) who begin
to talk about withdrawal from Iraq as inevitable and maybe necessary
soon are worth spreading the word about.  Robert Byrd, whose role in
this matter has assured the old rascal a favorable footnote in history,
was the only one until now, as far as I can tell. Now John Murtha --
like Byrd, hardly a traditional "left wing" Democrat -- has raised his
voice, a little less boldly than Byrd. The note in brackets is by
Transfer News.
Fred Feldman


Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit


[John Murtha has now joined retired Gen. Odom, former head of
the NSA, in openly voicing what most public figures are still
afraid to say quite so bluntly. Odom goes further and says the
war always was unwinnable.]


http://www.thehill.com/news/050604/murtha.aspx

Murtha signals Dem sea-change on Iraq
Respected hawk says conflict may be now 'unwinnable'

By Hans Nichols

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) told his Democratic colleagues Tuesday that
he feared the war in Iraq is unwinnable if the U.S. military does not
dramatically increase troop levels, provide more ground support and
seek significant international involvement.

But Murtha - a Vietnam veteran, an early Democratic advocate of
President Bush's authority to invade Iraq and one of Congress's
staunchest supporters of the military - expressed serious doubts that
those remedies are even faint possibilities, given current military
deployments, a lack of support from NATO allies and widespread outrage
over the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war.

Coming from a senior appropriator with close ties to the Pentagon,
Murtha's bleak analysis led many colleagues to surmise that he
believes a democratic Iraq is a lost cause.

The White House, however, notified Congress yesterday that it would
ask for an additional $25 billion supplemental bill for military
operations in Iraq and the war on terrorism. The request will most
likely be attached to the 2005 defense appropriations bill.

Many Democrats, especially those long opposed to the war, welcomed
Murtha's apparent change of heart. Democrats continued to vent about
the U.S. casualties, the administration's planning for the war and the
POW images.

Murtha declined to elaborate on his presentation, given in this week's
"leader lunch," but several lawmakers and aides confirmed that he had
delivered his dire warning.

And because of his stature among colleagues, Murtha's increased gloom
about Iraq may indicate a sea change within the Democratic
congressional ranks, the sources added.

Murtha told The Hill that he would appear with House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at a press conference tomorrow to "talk about
the situation, and to talk about the prisoner situation."

At the closed-door luncheon, several members urged Murtha to take his
bleak assessment public and use his stature as a bipartisan hawk to
make his case to the American people.

Neither Murtha nor his staff gave any indication of just how harsh his
comments would be at today's press conference or whether his public
statements would be as critical as his private briefing to colleagues.
(On Tuesday night, he spoke to a Center for Strategic and
International Studies invitation-only event.)

Word of Murtha's briefing spread throughout the Democratic caucus, as
many lawmakers were not in Washington for Tuesday's lunch.

Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), an opponent of the war and close
confidant of Pelosi, characterized Murtha's presentation as a "dose of
reality."

"People recognized the significance of someone of his stature to say
this. We're obviously digesting and thinking about what he's saying,"
Miller told The Hill, noting Murtha has been to Iraq several times and
has "been following this from the beginning."

Even senior Republicans conceded that an assessment from Murtha had
heft because of his bipartisan and pro-military reputation. However,
Republicans cautioned that any discussion of Iraq needs to be put into
the context of election-year politics.

"John Murtha is a well-respected member, but you have to factor
everything though the prism of an election year," said Rep. Tom Davis
(R-Va.).

Davis warned that if Murtha did publicly say the war was unwinnable,
it would be "a devastating statement for our soldiers."

"Can you imagine what that will do for morale on the ground?" said
Davis. He added, "You can't exploit the war for political purposes."

Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.),, who addressed the luncheon after
Murtha, told The Hill that Democrats who voted against the war were
thrilled and gratified that "John Murtha, who has such enormous
credibility, speak his mind on this issue."

The dean of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), said that he
sensed a fundamental shift in the Democrats' thinking as a result of
the images of prisoner abuse, coupled with Murtha's willingness to ask
fundamental questions about the war.

"What friends the White House had on this matter [the war] are
outraged, and those who didn't support the war are even more
outraged," said Dingell.

Another Democratic lawmaker said that Murtha's presentation changed
the calculus for many Democrats. 'This is going to force the Democrats
' hand. The Democrats are finally developing a political strategy on
Iraq, and this will help."

Pro-war Democrats cautioned against overreacting to news reports from
Iraq. "It's one thing to say it's unwinnable. It's another to say we'
re going to pull out," said Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), a colleague of
Murtha's on the Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) also spoke at Tuesday's luncheon. He told
The Hill, "It's critical that we have a better understanding of Islam
and the nature of Muslims in general."

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